The one who stopped my rain
by CheonSongYi
Summary: IchixRuki. Ichigo always thought that he wasn't a very dirty minded teenager, as were some of his friends. But then a raven-haired shinigami occupies his closet and sleeps with, ahem, accompanies him every night in his room. Will the presence a girl not do anything to this boy? Or… will feelings begin to flow? First bleach fic! Please r&r. More info inside. T for now
1. Words

**Summary**: Ichigo always thought that he wasn't a very dirty minded teenager, as were some of his friends. But then a raven-haired shinigami occupies his closet and _sleeps with_, ahem, accompanies him every night in his room. Will the presence a girl not do anything to this boy? Or… will feelings begin to flow?

**First Bleach fanfiction, please enjoy! **_Thoughts _ "dialogue"**  
**

**I do not own BLEACH or its characters.**

* * *

It was a night as any other for Ichigo and Rukia. Normal, even, if you could call it normal to be surrounded by spirits filled with past regrets or souls unable to pass on to the netherworld. It was not without activity, however; few small-fry hollows popped up here and there around the town, and the duo made short work of them.

"Man, isn't this frustrating!" sighed Ichigo, as they returned to the Kurosaki residence the fourth time that night. "The hollows are so weak and far out; it's a pity to even leave the house to fight them."

"Be prepared, Ichigo. We never know when a strong one may attack the innocent souls of Karakura." replied Rukia, in a low voice.

"Innocent?" Ichigo spat sarcastically, "Well, if they were so innocent, they wouldn't have transformed into hollows in the first place. That is to say, IF they were, which they AREN'T. "

'_Typical Ichigo'_ Rukia thought.

She put on a frown and pretended to be serious, "I'm just saying that you should enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts. There will surely be more trouble in this line of profession."

Saying so, she cleared her throat and walked to Ichigo's her closet to nap.

"Line of profession? What do you mean? Oi, Rukia! Don't ignore me! Speaking of which, hasn't your reiatsu reached the point where you could return to the 'Soul society' place?"

Rukia turned her head slightly to consider his words. Then, realising that she was too tired to answer, ignored him and went inside the closet only to shut it with a loud bang.

"Che! Fine! Do as you please!" Even though they had met each other few weeks back only, Ichigo knew there was no arguing with Rukia when she was in a bad mood. The continuous lack of sleep had affected him too...

He lay on his bed and thought about what she said.

_Enjoy the peace and quiet, huh?_

He looked towards the closet and thought about Rukia. _What was it that they had?_ he often asked his own self. (Some of) his classmates had the audacity to up and ask them if they were going out. A blush crept up his face at the prospect of dating Rukia. Even though she was a midget, and even if he did not have special interests in dating; she was (at least looked like) a girl and he was a healthy teenager. And her presence in his room was... well, embarrassing for him. It often brought him to think a lot. Moreover, there was no stop to this process. It went on and on as different ideas popped constantly into his head.

_'Arghhhhh!'_ he sighed mentally and clamped his eyes shut.

Another groan resounded faraway, signaling that a hollow was near. The almirah door slid open with urgency and Rukia nodded in unison with Ichigo in a silent gesture. They jumped out of the window just in time to see the morning sun come over the horizon. Despite the fact that she was utterly tired, Rukia exclaimed the beauty of the scene while Ichigo sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Somehow, he knew that today was going to be a long day...

* * *

Next day at school (scientifically, it was the same day)

Ichigo was totally sleep-deprived. _What a cool way to start the day..._ His head was muddled with stray thoughts and his eyes felt itchy. That being said, he could not ignore the task at hand. Sneaking his tall frame around the wall, he motioned for Rukia to come out hiding and rush to the classroom. "Oi midget!" he whispered, "The coast's clear. Run or you'll be late-"

"Who is a midget?" asked Rukia, kicking him in the shin and walking away in a ladylike way as Ichigo yelped in pain.  
Following her after a few minutes, he swore to himself that he would have never done this if his reputation as a good student wasn't on line. His bright orange hair gave him more than enough attention and the last thing he wanted was to come to school with a girl be eyed like a total pervert. Stifling a yawn, he moved on to class.

Later that day

The bell for lunch break beckoned pandemonium in the class. Everybody went to do something or the other to relax themselves. Rukia was chatting animatedly with Orihime and Tatsuki while Ichigo was staring at their group with narrowed eyes. Suddenly, Keigo sidled up to him.

"What's up, Ichigo?" he asked. "Not willing to share Rukia-chan even with the girls?"

"Wha-" Ichigo says, beyond surprised. "What're you talking about, idiot?"

"Don't deny your feelings for Rukia-san, Ichigo. We understand." Mizuiro came up and gave his usual calm smile.

"You guys are seriously disillusioned," he sighed and Keigo continued to cry rivers of tears. "There's nothing going on between us!"

"Liar! I saw with my own two eyes," Keigo said as he pointed at his eyes outrageously, "You and Rukia-chan coming hand-in-hand to school the day before yesterday! Don't you dare tell me that-"

Ichigo's irk rose by the minute. Why won't these guys just stop poking their noses? He was already quite pissed off since morning and he didn't want to pick a fight right now.

"Asano-kun," Rukia stepped in to smoothen matters after all that commotion "I believe that the day before yesterday was a Sunday, so you possibly couldn't have seen us coming to school."

"Ah, Kuchiki-san I was just..." Keigo trailed off sheepishly, not sure what to say.

"Now, if you will excuse Ichigo. We have things to attend to." she said in a business-like tone, bowing a little. The two boys bowed as well, and Ichigo took his leave from the class.

Outside, he was just relieved. "I can't thank you _enough_ for helping me out of that dastardly conversation, Rukia." he told her.

"Idiot, it's not for you. Take me to the canteen. I'm feeling hungry and I forgot the way." she replied.

He rolled his eyes. _Of course... It was _so_ unlike her to save his ass outside of their 'job'._ "This way." he steered.

And then, she asked him a weird question. "Do men over here have a 'fetish' for black hair?"

Ichigo was so overwhelmed by her choice of words that he shouted a "NO!" attracting the attention of all those around. "I meant, no, there is no special fetish or something of that sort."

Rukia mused a while and said, "What sort?"

"You don't need to know. A-Anyway, we are here already, so pick what you like."

She nodded a small 'ok' and started picking up different sorts of confectionery.

Ichigo sighed _for God's sake,_ from where did she update her human words vocabulary? However, the round of question was not over yet.

"Ichigo." she said as they were going back to class.

"Hm?"

"What's a boob job?"

This time Ichigo nearly spat his yakisoba out of his mouth.

"A WHAT?" Ichigo asked with the same severity as a parent scolding their child for learning a swear word. "Who said that to you?"

"Not me, I overheard some people say that maybe Inoue had gotten a 'boob-job' done, but I didn't ask her. Is it a bad word? And calm down, will you? You're overreacting way too much." she chided him.

"Well it _is_ a word bad enough for you not to use in your daily life," he said while regaining his composure. "And don't mention it to Orihime. She might faint."

Her lips came together in an 'o' formation. "Okay, but promise to tell me its meaning at home." she whispered the last part.

Ichigo, now with pink cheeks, thought of how he had to teach her to use a dictionary.

* * *

**a/n:** Hahaha, that's all I can post this time (since I'm in the middle of my exams!). But, I promise to post the next part asap if I get um…. Idk at least 3 reviews? It's written out and only left to type. So, review please! It would make my day! Forgive any grammar errors because I've got no time to beta-read this. In case you haven't noticed, the timeline is from the _very_ beginning, when Ichigo and Rukia met each other for the first time.

**Edit: **Thanks to the two people who have reviewed my little story, namely: Phantom Claire and cybercorpsesnake and two anon reviewers. I've made the changes you asked me to. Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	2. Pillow Fight

**SUMMARY: **A fluffy oneshot.

**a/n:** The idea of drabbles is quite good... so I thought why not try it? The timeline is somewhere near the beginning. Please tell me through a PM or comment if you want any of these two to be continued and I'll try my best.

**Please enjoy! **_Thoughts/flashback _"dialogue"**  
**

**I do not own BLEACH or its characters.**

* * *

Pillow Fight

_Two people hitting each other, their soft laughter, feathers floating down in a slow motion of their own. The moment captured perfectly in perfect lighting and soundtrack. _

Cheesy as hell, but Ichigo was sure that _this_ wasn't what was happening here. In fact, he would trade cheesy for the hell he was going through right now.

"Take that!" Rukia said, throwing two pillows aimed at his head.

"Go easy, Rukia. This isn't a real fight!" Ichigo almost had to scream. But if Rukia was anything, this proved that she was most certainly deaf. She hit him square on the face, tossed him around the house like a rag doll and dusted him as one would dust a futon. Ichigo knew that his warnings about being safe had not been regarded in the least. She took this as seriously as she took fighting hollows. Perhaps even more. After five minutes or so, he was sure that she would be satisfied only when he broke one of his bones.

Hastily, Ichigo dodged two oncoming ones but was a tad bit late in throwing his own at her.

Taking her chance, she jumped at him with full force, the momentum enough to lodge the air out of his lungs. He landed on the couch with a muffled cry of surprise.

"Your movements are too open, Ichigo," Rukia noted with a teasing smirk as she lay on top of him. "You can't afford to put your guard down."

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo smirked, almost knowing what was coming next.

"Yeah," she straddled his waist and extended her hand to bring out the cushion beneath his head.

"I dare you to say that again," his grin widened. Now it was his turn to corner her. He flipped her easily, trapping her beneath him. The momentary look of shock

"Ack! That was my head, stupid! Baldy! How dare you go pinning a lady under you?" Rukia grabbed a fistful of his hair.

"What did you say, squirt? Who's a 'lady' here?" he pinched both of her cheeks.

"LEAVE my cheeks!" she struggled.

"First YOU leave my head, idiot!" he said, not giving up without a match, but smiling inwardly.

Though he never appreciated soap operas of any kind, Ichigo had to admit that this was not as bad as he had thought (he would have liked to keep her fighting spirit out of it but Rukia came as a complete package as she was…). Since her arrival, she had pretty much accustomed herself to much of human mass media, colloquial language (cough) and all sorts of animals. Of course, the charm of midday TV serials did not go by unnoticed. One of them featured this: the 'activity' fondly known as pillow fighting. While he was perfectly sure that it was a display of the chemistry between the actors, Rukia didn't fully get the romantic aspect. Fight meant only _fighting_, and it won her heart that humans had evolved such beautiful ways of training.

_"We should do this, right? We should totally train this way!" she had said in an overly excited voice. His response was just a tired, dragged sigh._

"_We must Ichigo! I feel it is necessary for you to try each kind of weapon. We will do this, no?" she looked at him hopefully._

_He looked into her eyes. They were shining. Well, he could not win now, so..._

"_If we must." he said, defeated._

"_Yay!" came her little shout of pleasure. _

The next day, as soon as Isshin was out on errands, Karin and Yuzu to their friends', they gathered pillows and cushions of all sizes from around the house and began the special 'training'.

Their current chase led them back to Ichigo's room. After landing a few more hits, punches and kicks, Rukia finally collapsed, fatigued.

"That was the most fun training of my life, I'll admit this much!" she said between pants.

Ichigo sighed, exhausted himself. A slight blush stained his ears; a result of their constant proximity over the past half hour. At some points during their fight, he swore that she was so close that he could kiss her. Just a tilt of his chin in the upward direction, and he was sure to taste her beautiful, red lips. Lips that had been haunting, plaguing his thoughts day in and out.

But he was no fool. Ichigo knew what their relationship meant to her - probably just friendship. And he wanted to protect that. One silly action because of his overly active hormones could have serious repercussions. It would leave the air heavy with tension and certainly make things too difficult for both of them. The last things he wanted were regrets. He knew that she wasn't going away soon, not now, but eventually. It was useless to start something, much less if it was something romantic.

Thus, Ichigo decided to strengthen his resolve to suppress his feelings.

_She was close, but still far after all... _

While he was lost in thoughts, Rukia was observing him closely. "Ichigo, my throat is dry, let's grab some water." her voice came out a little cracked.

"Yeah, let's." Dismissing his musings for the time being, be picked himself off the bed and followed her to the fridge. He could think about this later. This was satisfactory for him and maybe this was the only point up till which their relationship was allowed to progress.

Aaaaaand on second thought, no, he won't trade cheesy for what they had.

* * *

**a/n:** Aww, Ichigo's such a cute guy. We all know that Rukia's happiness matters the most to him, even if it sometimes borders on dorky-ness. The rest to be continued after my exams.


	3. 143

**A/N:** Ok, so I have not updated this one in three months… but I'm here again! Hope you are still reading fan fiction. The story this time is incomplete, as I am in the process of writing the second part. Sorry for the weird cliffhanger this time, but I am having a major case of writers' block (because of school stress) and romantic moments don't come smoothly to my hand when I'm under that pressure. This did not start with me listening to Henry Lau's song 143, but then I remembered it, and was listening to it all the while I was typing this. I would like to thank my friend **Ira**, who has been a great motivation all throughout, THANK YOU for cheering me up!:) She also requested the IchiRuki fluff, so I guess the story started from there. Without further ado, enjoy!

* * *

**_Chapter 3: Just a Number_**

It started approximately ten days ago and the faithful message was here once again. No subject, no greeting, only three digits:

_143._

That is it. That's all the text it ever contained, she had been observing. It was beginning to get seriously creepy. It wasn't just the texts that weirded her out. Notes saying 143 had been popping everywhere as well. They looked harmless, and she hadn't been receiving any threats, so Rukia ignored those.

(She had to admit, some of them looked cute, like that one she found tucked under her shoes in the locker. It had a drawing of chappy holding a heart-shaped pin cushion on it and for that reason and that reason only, she had saved it in her wallet, unlike the other ones which found their way to the bin. Then there was one that she failed to get: It had the outline of a heart around the number four.)

"Just what the hell is it with these pointless texts? I have been getting them over the past week." Rukia addressed her concerns to her friends over the lunch break, leaving out the part about the notes.

Unnatural silence descended the group and for a moment, everybody was staring at Rukia. Keigo, thinking that this must be his opening, lunged himself towards her.

"Kuchiki-san! If something is troubling you, this Keigo swears to protect you- _buah!_"

Rukia deftly dodged his possibly perverted advances and his face planted into the hard ground, "I appreciate the concern, Asano-san, but I won't be requiring your protection."

Orihime resumed taking big munches of her red bean paste sandwich and asked between mouthfuls, "Spam?"

Rukia shook her head "No, it's a proper number. I tried calling, but no one answered." The busty girl nodded in understanding and went back to eating her weird lunch.

"I presume that you have been ignoring these," Ishida started "But for the time being, you can try sending a reply. The other side can reject a call, but not a message." He pushed up his glasses for added effect. Rukia nodded.

"No, no you can't, Rukia-chan!" Orihime interjected "What if it's a stalker? Just ignore it or call the police."

"Inoue-san, you've got crumbs all over your face." Ishida turned her face towards him and wiped them off. "Thank you, Uryuu-kun!" said Orihime, cheery as ever and the person in question turned his face away, which was apparently the colour of a tomato.

May I ask what the content was?" Chad asked in a polite tone.

"Just a number; 143."

There was silence once more. It seemed that Ichigo had nothing at all to say about the affair.

* * *

_That dumb midget. Why does she have to tell everything to these idiots? And these guys…_

Everybody in the scene was over reacting. Inoue was squealing and running about the place, Ishida was pushing his glasses into his eyes until Ichigo wasn't sure if they could take it anymore, Keigo had remained on the floor and was now crying out loud and Chad… well, he remained Chad-like, as always, unfazed and pretending he hadn't asked that damn question just now. Rukia was probably the only person that insanity left untouched.

"What? What happened to you guys?" she asked, confused.

Ichigo looked around and felt glad at having found an electricity pole to stare at, because he was having a hard time looking at her face and hiding the blush that crept up his neck. From the corner of his eye, he caught Ishida's eye, who was giving him a meaningful glare. Ichigo craned his neck another ninety-degree out of his line of vision and whistled nonchalantly.

"Kurosaki and I will get some drinks at the canteen." He dragged a reluctant Ichigo from the terrace.

"A green tea for me, Uryuu-kun!" Orihime shouted as they were going. "Got it." He called back.

Only when they reached a place with no ears around, did the Quincy let go of Ichigo's arm.

* * *

"You're _mystery-texting_ Kuchiki-san?" Ishida spat accusingly, like that were the worst crime one could commit.

Ichigo looked to his side. "Y-ye- n-no… um… I suppose so." He knew he was behaving like a five year old, being all in denial and no-no stuff, as if he hadn't stolen candy from the jar.

But Ishida wasn't in the mood for games, he was seriously ticked off. "This isn't going to work, Ichigo. Don't you see? Telling your feelings to a girl is as simple as manning up and saying it out loud. Kuchiki-san won't get it this way."

Ichigo was silent for a while. Then he shook his head and said, "You don't get it. It's not as simple for me as it was for you, Uryuu. And Rukia…" Ichigo could not think of the right words to describe her there and then. The bond between them was much more complex than what appeared to others. There was friendship and there was love. Right now, their relationship was somewhere in between. Right now, Ichigo wanted to jump to the next step, as well as take it slow. It was a confusing feeling. He did not know what it was but that it was there and he wanted to make something substantial out of it.

Ishida's voice broke him out of his reverie "And you think that this 143 business will work?"

"No, I don't" Ichigo said quietly, "I don't, but I don't think that confessing straight up will work as well!" he said with resolve.

"Why won't it?" Ishida said, distraught at Ichigo's stupidity. And just think of what Byakuya-san will do if Kuchiki-san reports this to him!"

"Oh shit! I forgot all about that!"

"Well, you better start thinking about it and stop coming off as a huge pervert. Your girly advances will be misinterpreted as signs of a major sicko if you continue this."

"Wha- look who's calling me girly? The man who willingly joined the sewing club?"

"At least I was manly enough to tell my feelings to Orihime, unlike some pansy who sits there and texts his girl 'I love you' like an obsessed old man!"

"What the, you! Wanna settle this, you sissy?"

Unbeknownst to them both, pictures of their little squabble were being snapped from the rooftop by the Fujoshi club of the school.

"Forbidden _love_!" gushed one of them.

* * *

That evening when Rukia sat on the edge of her closet, legs dangling outside, she pondered upon the code.

_Just what does it mean? Is it something offensive? What is this person saying?_

She lifted her phone up to the bedroom light, twisting and turning it, wishing for the light to unravel its meaning for her. This seemingly simple code that had been the talk of their break earlier. Suddenly, Rukia remembered Ishida's advice. In an unexpected rush of adrenaline, she typed _what do you want?_ – and was about to think of something more intelligent to write when she accidentally pressed send.

_OhmygodohmygodOHMYGOD!_

* * *

'_To tell you my feelings' _wasn't exactly what Ichigo could type into the phone after declaring his feelings through a silly code and getting mistaken for a stalker. He sighed and squatted on the bathroom floor. _What do you mean_? – his hand entered to the screen, and Ichigo let it, for by now, he was sure his body and mind did not coordinate at all.

He had honestly not wanted to start with this 'ghost texting' affair, because he was aware that his duty as a substitute shinigami, school, homework and exams did not leave him a lot of time for relationships. But since that time Rukia came back after seventeen months of separation, Ichigo was feeling overwhelmed, no, burdened with a lot of emotions. His thumb hovered over the send button as he contemplated these feelings further. Telling the midget honestly would be of no consequence; she was far too dense. She would probably knee him in the stomach. So Ichigo came up with this idea. He was sure this sounded too stupid and corny but somewhere along the way, his mind ended up thinking that it was okay and this was Rukia; there was no way she would figure this out and the next thing he knew he was going with this ridiculous plan.

"Onii-chan?" Karin called out, banging her fist on the bathroom door. "What are you doing?"

In his shock, the phone fell out of his hands and onto the floor. When he picked it up five innocent words flashed on the cheap LED screen 'Your message has been sent.'

_shitshitSHIT!_

* * *

"What do _I_ mean?" Rukia shouted loudly. She was on the brink of her patience. Was this man mad? How dare he-

Just then, Ichigo burst into the room, apparently in a hurry. Rukia wondered when he had gotten out of the room, when she vaguely remembered him stumbling out with a 'bathroom' excuse.

"Rukia, we need to get away, _now_!" he said, hurriedly.

She complied and grabbed her jacket anyway, but that did not lessen her confusion.

"Ichigo, where are we going?" she asked as he grabbed her hand and zoomed down the staircase.

"Just come." He replied though gritted teeth.

* * *

**A/N:** Can some of you guess what's in line next already? *hint hint* ^_^ Tell me in your reviews, but remember not to be mean!


	4. 1432

**A/N:** Hehe, I couldn't leave this alone, so here is the continuation of the previous story. I have tweaked the first part of chapter 3 a little bit, so you might want to check that out first.

In case some are wondering, 'The one who stopped my rain' will be a compilation of IchiRuki one shots, sometimes broken down into two or more parts because of time restrictions or just reasons. I fear that this might have come out a bit choppy, because of my haste in updating, and I don't even have a beta-reader. Read and review just in case. I'll edit in the changes later.

* * *

_**Chapter 4: 1432**_

"_Ichigo, where are we going?" she asked as he grabbed her hand and zoomed down the staircase._

"_Just come." He replied though gritted teeth. _

He dragged her out of the house, leaving a questioning Isshin and worried Yuzu to wonder what happened. Kicking the door shut, Ichigo led Rukia away from their residence, where they got almost no privacy.

"What the hell, Ichigo? Where are we going?" Rukia asked, irritated at being displaced from the warm house to the chilly wind outside all of a sudden. A stray dog barked somewhere. His hold on her wrist tensed and she winced in pain. "What's the big deal? There are no hollows out here." She looked around to make sure. "And where are you taking me?' she questioned again.

Ichigo, however, did not reply. He stopped in a silent alleyway.

"Leave my hand and tell me why we are here." ordered Rukia. Her hands were turning cold and the tip of her nose was already pink upon contact with the icy breeze. He immediately let go of her hand but kept his back turned to her and made no effort to face her. When he remained silent for a little more while, Rukia poked his back, "Oi Ichigo, what's gotten into you?"

He abruptly turned, and Rukia took a step back in shock.

"You!" he shouted. "You have! You're on my mind every day, every night! Since that time you first appeared, you've gotten into my mind! I can't help it!" His eyes were wide, hazel irises turning to a darker shade as the weight of his suppressed emotions registered in them. "During the time you were gone, I…" he trailed off, suddenly quiet as he whispered out the last part of the sentence. "… I never stopped thinking about you. I think I am-" He dipped his head so his bangs were shadowing his eyes, as he stuttered over what he was going to say.

"_I think I love you…"_

* * *

To say that Rukia was surprised was an understatement. She was beyond surprised, she was… _dumfounded_. Her mind struggled to comprehend what Ichigo was saying, to make sense out of the words she could see being uttered but failed to grasp their meaning. A lone tear slipped down her cheek, but she wasn't sure if it was because the cold stung her eyes or the sudden emotions piercing her heart. Ichigo took notice and stepped forward in her direction.

"Rukia…" he whispered softly and then gently placed his hands on her shoulders. She instinctively stiffened at the contact but then relaxed. "Don't cry, please. _It makes me sad._"

"How am I not supposed to cry, you idiot?" Rukia bawled, choking on her sob. Then the dam of her emotions seemed to break. She muttered things between laboured breaths, and Ichigo wasn't sure that he understood its meaning.

"…baka Ichigo! Are y-you ma-mad…" A gasp. "I've been waiting so long!"

"Rukia, stop crying! I can't understand what you're saying."

"I have been waiting for you to say that, you know!" she cried, annoyed at his dense behaviour. But then again, her nose was blocked, and a nasal voice isn't very easy to make sense out of.

Ichigo pressed her against his chest and she leaned in to the welcome warmth.

"Shh… Calm down. I'm the one who made it like this, so I'll be one who will sort it out, okay? For the time being, stop crying please." He rubbed circles on the small of her back in a gentle manner.

"Mmm…" Rukia relaxed in his embrace and sighed peacefully. "Oh wait! Does this mean we are dating?"

Ichigo dove his free hand into his orange locks, and thought about it. "Well, I guess dating is one way to say it."

"Dating means?"

"We'll be hanging out together more often and doing the stuff couples do."

"And going out is?"

"It's the same thing." Ichigo clarified. Rukia nodded, glad that she had updated her 'Human Dictionary', as she called it, a bit more today.

They began walking towards home, hand in hand, both feeling a little warmer than they ought to in the chilly weather, because of their erratic pulse. On the way, Rukia glanced at Ichigo out of the corner of her eye, which he caught, and the pair smiled shyly at each other. The hold on each other's fingers tightened for a moment, before parting, for they now stood in front of the house.

"Let's get inside fast, I'm freezing." said Rukia.

"Yeah, let's just hope that dad's asleep." said Ichigo, rolling his eyes when he thought of his silly dad and his antics.

Fortunately for them, the rest of the Kurosaki household had retired for the night, and the duo managed to get to Ichigo's room without disturbances.

"Oh, right! I just recalled. That time you dragged me away, I was wondering about this code that I received –"

"Leave it," Ichigo answered quickly. "I sent you those."

"Y-you were pranking me from the past ten days? Ichi-"

"It wasn't pranking, you dimwit, look carefully."

Rukia checked her mobile. A dull ringing sound alerted her of the arrival of a new text. She opened it, curious to know.

_143 = I love you._

(Her eyes widened. Suddenly all of it made sense. The senseless notes in her desks, the chappy holding a heart-shaped pin cushion and most of all, the outline of a heart made around the number four. A heavy blush stained her cheeks and Rukia could only chide herself for not noticing it earlier. _Of course it was him._ What a fool she had been.)

Still blushing, she typed the reply, snapped her phone shut and jumped into the closet mumbling a "goodnight".

Ichigo's phone buzzed and he opened the flip phone to read.

_1432 = I love you too._

He smiled. "I know that, idiot."

Both were going to have sweet dreams that night.

* * *

**A/N: **For yuiyuki who asked how 143 means 'I love you': the number of letters in the three magical words are 1, 4, and 3 respectively. It can even mean 'I like you', because the number of letters is the same. I hope that made it clear ^^ if not, there's always the internet. And of course Ichigo used a separate phone number or something equivalent to text Rukia. Even he ain't that stupid.

**Thank you Dreaming Haven, hopelessromantic and yuiyuki for the lovely reviews!**

While favs and follows are as good as reviews are, nothing beats actual feedback, written in _words_. So don't hesitate to press the 'review' button and leave a nice comment!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, if there are any requests for chapters you'd like me to do (though I'm doubtful there will be), throw them at me anyway!


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